ABOUT AUTHORS:
Tripti Verma*, Keshav Vashistha, Sachin Vispute
B N College of Pharmacy,
Udaipur, Rajasthan
*triptiphsoni22@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
The review examines the recent trials of clopidogrel in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes, as well as current cardiac guidelines from several professional societies. As the publication of the landmark study Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events (CURE), the clinical benefit of early and intermediate-term use of combined antiplatelet agents--clopidogrel plus aspirin--in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients became evident. Pretreatment and intermediate-term therapy with clopidogrel in NSTEMI ACS patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was further supported by the PCI-CURE trial. Recently, the results of two major trials Clopidogrel as Adjunctive Reperfusion Therapy-Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 28, Clopidogrel and Metoprolol in Myocardial Infarction Trial established the pivotal role of clopidogrel in the other spectrum of ACS-STEMI. Coupled with the results from previous multicentre trials, these two studies provide a guide for the early and long-term use of clopidogrel in the whole spectrum of ACS. A review summarising the results of the recent clinical trials and a discussion on its implications for the clinical management of ACS is presented.Clopidogrel is well established in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes and is ubiquitous in cardiology practice. Landmark studies have established the importance of clopidogrel in the treatment of non-ST and ST elevation myocardial infarction and in percutaneous coronary intervention by reducing death, reinfarction, and adverse cardiac events.